Should the Supreme Court Have Retention Elections?

After some found the recent gay marriage and Obamacare rulings undesirable, there has been a new push launched to have retention votes for the Supreme Court of the United States. This is a practice adopted by many states including Iowa. In 2010, after the Iowa Supreme Court found that limiting marriage to heterosexuals was unconstitutional, three Justices were voted out of office.

The danger of politicizing the Judicial Branch of government is the reality that the Justices will be susceptible to public opinion instead of only relying on their judgment. Justices will have to run for reelection. Would Justices appointed to uphold the Constitution be in a better place to do that if they had to worry about being reelected? It would be hard to justify it would not affect their rulings. Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by George W. Bush, is no friend to liberals, but with his last two decisions, he’s no friend to conservatives lately either.

For more information:
http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/02/analysis-retention-elections-supreme-court/